In recent times, the Tinubu Administration has been exhibiting a worrisome fixation on taxation as the primary source of revenue. Fresh charges, levies, and duties are continually introduced or floated, sometimes without a concomitant effort at improving the economic welfare of the very same individuals who are to shoulder them. This trend is a cause for disconcerting question: do Nigerians need to be bled by taxation ad infinitum before they can be empowered to create wealth?
No wonder then that the Nigerian economy is in shambles. Inflation is biting, unemployment is rampant, and infrastructural fundamentals are either nonexistent or in shambles. Rather than address these structural problems, this Administration has fallen back on taxation as though squeezing the citizens will magically correct their maladministration. Actually, what this policy accomplishes is just the opposite: it destroys productivity, sluffs investment, and speeds poverty.
And as if all this was not enough, Nigerians are bracing themselves for the impending tax reform bills that come into effect from January 2026. Hyped as a means of streamlining and simplifying revenue collection, the bill adds new burdens and compliance costs at a time when families and businesses are already under pressure from other economic woes. Anything but relief, it is yet another burden that can cut down on disposable income further and strangulate the flailing business climate.
A healthy economy is not built on the shoulders of exhausted citizens but on the policies that fuel innovation, business, and the pursuit of purposeful work. When individuals work well, when businesses operate in a stable environment, and when infrastructure supports productivity, the tax base naturally rises. The members of such a society are not only more capable of paying tax but are also more willing to do so because they know that their payments are being rebated in material form through perceived enhancement of their standards of living.
The government ought to understand that taxation is a product of economic endeavor and not an objective in itself. Rather than pursue the puny wallets of already struggling Nigerians, it should work to create a viable environment where business can thrive. This entails tackling the power supply challenges, upgrading the transportation network, addressing insecurity, and driving investment in strategic areas. If you are among those who ask the obvious question “where will they get the money from?”, maybe you should first ask yourself what they have done with the revenue from removing subsidies, increasing tariffs on imports, among others.
Nigeria cannot tax its way to prosperity. True prosperity is the result of empowering its citizens to be productive and competitive. A government that is empowered, rather than extracting, will not need to pursue citizens for tax payments—because a happy, economically successful society willingly and sustainably pays more tax.
The sooner our leaders grasp this elementary truth, the quicker Nigeria can move from taxing bare survival to truly growing prosperity
See also:
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